Why Run With Your Dog?

Personal training for dogs. Youâ€™re kidding, right? Actually, no, weâ€™re not. Research suggests up to 40% of our dogs are overweight, and they suffer from the same health complications that overweight people do. Veterinarians (including myself) are becoming more and more concerned about the increase in joint pain, heart disease and other obesity related illnesses in dogs.
Hence, Pooch to 5k. Dogs canâ€™t lift weights, or use the gym. If youâ€™re going to increase their fat burning, you need to increase the intensity of their exercise. This means that a daily stroll just wonâ€™t cut it any more, itâ€™s too laid back. The Pooch to 5k program will help you get your dog from doing nothing much to comfortably running 5km, over a period of 12 weeks.
Because youâ€™ll be running with your dog, youâ€™ll also get a great workout three times a week, as you train yourself to run 5km. Why not subscribe to our dog health and fitness newsletter and grab your dog, and youâ€™re ready to go!

Mar

22

SPI Belt Lead with Pocket

I recently saw the SPI Belt Dog Lead with Pocket at the Brisbane Twilight Half Marathon’s race expo, and straight away I thought it was a great idea.Â An elastic zippered bag attached to the side of a dog lead for carrying, according to them, keys, phone, and cash; according to me, essential dog needs of poo bags, treat, and maybe wrapped up dog waste.Â With one of these, there should be no excuses for the “forgetfulness” curse that plagues many dog walkers and runners, where they seem to never take bags with them when they go out with their dog.

Audrey ordered one for me on the Monday and the package was delivered on Tuesday.Â I took it out for an evening run with Cinnabar through the small patch of bush near our house, after putting a roll of disposable bags in the zippered pouch.Â I thought that carrying the bags would be the only exercise the SPI Belt would get – after all Sinner hardly ever “goes” during a run and I’ve had biodegradable bags break from old age down in my bum bag.

However, Sinner pulled out all the stops for the product review, and delivered a package of his own!Â It was simple to remove the bags from the pouch and pop the wrapped up package back into the zippered enclosure, and the zipper tag is extra large allowing for cold-fingered winter fumbling.

How did the lead perform for the next nine kilometres with a full payload?Â It worked well, the unique design securing both ends of the small pouch to the lead meaning that the waste didn’t swing around like a wrecking ball and annoy me.Â I was still carrying the weight, to be sure, but because the other end of the bag was tethered to my dog there was no swaying, spinning, and bouncing like a baggie normally does.Â The short lead is ideal for Cinnabar and I, as my previous flat lead was only a metre long, and this is a metre (about one yard) long also.Â He’s a medium sized dog, so the 2.5 cm (1 inch) webbing and full sized nickel plated dog clip didn’t weigh him down.Â And let’s face it – black is flattering on any dog.

All up, with a training handle down near the clip, and a fifteen centimetre (six inch) SPI Belt bag near the handle, this is a great lead for a medium to large sized dog that likes to be close to his owner.Â SPI stands for Small Personal Items, but I’m sure dog owners could find many other fitting acronyms.